The Undead
by Jet556
Summary: Vampires. They have many variations across the world and over the years. In this Ping File, our heroes came face to face with a monster out of nightmares that might not be from one time or place but a combination.
1. Vampires Across the World

**Welcome everyone. I intended for the next Ping File story to be about searching for Holger in the Jersey Pine Barrens. I then decided to go for something else. Enjoy and review.**

 **Vampires Across the World**

Brazil has the Bat People. In Mexico an ancient Mayan cult worshipped Camazotz. The rainforests of Java echo the cries of a bat creature called the "Athol." In Vietnam there are the Night Flyers. In Cameroon there is the Olitiau. In Senegal there is Guiafairo. In Ghana there is Sasabonsam. In Madagascar there is the Fangalabolo. In Indonesia there are tales of the Organ-Bati. These are all mysterious human-sized bats reported all over the world.

And vampires? In pre-industrial Slavic societies it was believed that a person's spirit lingered for forty days after death. Suicide victims, suspected witches, evil beings and unbaptized children were thought to have "unclean" spirits. According to this belief, a vampire was the manifestation of an unclean spirit possessing a decomposing body.

And then from Romania is the Strigoi. Believed to be the spirits of people who had led troubled lives, a Strigoi survived by drawing blood from people and would turn into either animals or poltergeists to cause chaos in the physical world. The Romanians blamed Strigoi for famine and disease.

All this Basil Hagen thought about as he sat in a theatre with his friends Lee Ping, Tina Kwee, Cam Martinez, Brandy Silver, Biff Goldstein and Kimmie McAdams. Holger Holgaart was there too, making him and Basil the only ones there without a significant other.

The film they were watching was "Nosferatu." As soon as the film ended the question of whether or not any one believed was popped by Cam.

"I am Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan." Said Basil. "The Celtic Nations speak of the baobhan sith from the Scottish Highlands and the leanan sidhe from the Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland. Besides there are other folklores that speak of such monsters! What about that report of those soldiers in Nam that were attacked by—"

"Basil, that is enough!" said Tina. "That report gave me nightmares for a month! And as for you, Cam, the next time you suggest we go to see a movie let someone else choose."


	2. Like Nothing Seen Before

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 **Like Nothing Seen Before**

Black fur, a monkey-like face, clawed feet, a twelve foot wingspan, five feet tall, eerie feminine features, bloated, a dark complexion, long hair, long teeth, long fingernails, indigo eyes… There was nothing natural about this creature. Of course, to believe the sightings was absolutely ludicrous but given the things Lee and his friends had seen on missions they couldn't be too sure.

"It is absurd!" exclaimed Basil in Lee's living room as he read the newspaper headline.

 _"Giant Bat Chases Couple."_

Lee could only sit in an armchair and listen. Basil had said the same thing four times now. Basil's repeat of the same three words was getting them nowhere. Basil was about to utter those three words for a fifth time when Tina spoke.

"What do you think, Basil?" asked Tina.

"It sounds like an amalgamation of a cave demon, a vampire and a strigoi!" exclaimed Basil. "It is—"

"Absurd?" asked Lee in a snarky manner.

"Indeed it is! This sounds like a plot to a bad American cartoon!" exclaimed Basil.

"There are a lot of those, Basil." Commented Tina.

"Basil, where exactly would those three things you said this one is a combination of take shelter?" asked Lee.

"Well, the Athol lives in the rainforest of Java but there is no specific lair given for it." Began Basil. "And the Orang-Bati roosts in a dead volcano… A normal vampire would reside in their grave… But strigoi? There were believed to be the spirits of deceased people who led troubled lives so they might reside in their graves as well. There are rainforests in Canada, temperate of course, but they are not in Ontario and we know there are no volcanoes in Canada. So I guess caves and cemeteries are it…"

"Guess we start at cemeteries then." Said Lee.


	3. All for Nothing

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 **The Veil Over Procyon's Eyes**

As a celestial and guard of the bridge from which the Floating Mountain across the Rainbow Bridge got its name, Procyon's sight extended far. Yet now he found a veil over his eyes. He could see but not as far as he would like to. Procyon's loyalty to his family and thus the protection he gave to his family was prevented by him not being able to see past the rainbow bridge and so not being able to even see his family down on the mortal plane he could not see their allies and enemies either.

"Pumyra and Donalbain seek out the ThunderCats." Said Jaga. He was not an Evabon and thus not a celestial but as a spirit of good, Jaga came and went as he pleased.

"If that is so there is nothing I can do about it!" exclaimed Procyon. "My eyes are clouded, I cannot see past the bridge! We must look to someone else to help them!"

"Yes but who to look to?" asked Jaga. "You cannot see past the bridge and as a spirit I am not capable of stopping them myself. The most I can do is appear before them."

"Then appear before the ThunderCats and warn them is what you must do." Commented Procyon.

"They are scattered at the moment." Said Jaga. "The young Wilys are searching for El Dara."

Procyon hung his head in shame. "It was in the name of revenge that I sacked it."

"You wished to avenge your nephew, Gard's son Gryphon." Stated Jaga. "There is no need to be ashamed of what you did so long ago."

"They know little of me!" acknowledged Procyon. "Perhaps it is better they not know of my shame and I have much."

"Do you know where Wodanaz is?" asked Jaga.

Procyon looked to Jaga with a confused look. Why the sudden change of subject? And then it hit him. Jaga to tell the adult ThunderCats and Wodanaz to bring the Wilys back to them.

"Alas, I know not." Confessed Procyon. "There is no other celestial who spends so little time on the Floating Mountain Across the Rainbow Bridge."

Jaga then sighed. "Then it seems I must go to them myself. Two can do a job much better than just one. I pray the veil that clouds your vision soon lifts."


	4. The Sewers

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 **The Sewers**

The sewers were not the best place to be in. Sitting at a table with a map of the sewers at it, Biffy Goldstein and Basil Hagen talked while a radio with a walkie-talkie had Lee, Tina, Cam and Holger talking to one another.

"So, I say to Kimmie 'Then wear the pink one' and the next thing I know is she is trying to choose from five different kinds of pink!" Said Biffy as he and Basil waited for a question from one of those below.

"Unbelievable." Commented Basil.

"Can someone please tell me which way I go?" asked Cam.

Basil grabbed the walkie-talkie. "Where are you exactly, Cam?"

"West aqueduct."

Basil looked at Biffy who then looked at the map. "Okay, lets see here… There is no west aqueduct on this map."

"Alright, the east one then." Said Cam.

Basil listened to Biffy and Cam talk. As he did, he thought about whether or not he was a coward to not go down into the sewers to go searching for the vampire with the others. Then the sounds of flapping wings filled the air.

Both Biffy and Basil looked to a nearby window and then the vampire came crashing through.


	5. False Alarm

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 **False Alarm**

To say it had actually been the vampire would have been untrue. To say it was a very large and very fearsome kite would have been completely true.

"For goodness sake!" Basil walked over to the kite and picked it up. "Who makes a kite this big?" He then stuck his head out the window. "Here is your absurdly large kite back!" And with that he threw it down to its owner. Turning back, Basil then walked over to the table and sat down. "A kite! Why does anyone need a kite that big?"

"Maybe they are a big person?" asked Biffy.

"The owner was a grown man with dwarfism." Replied Basil.

"I'm out then."

"What is it?" asked Lee from his walkie-talkie. "What happened?"

"Just a kite." Replied Biffy, picking up the walkie-talkie. "It is nothing."

"It was something." Said Basil. "No one, no matter their height, needs a kite that is big enough to pass off as an albatross!"

"It was not." Said Biffy. "If the guy had dwarfism then that thing would have dragged him along whenever the wind got hold of it!"

"He looked like he had a good strong weight to him!" countered Basil. "I bet he is strong too! The line looked like it broke anyway."

"Biffy, buddy, please take your finger off the button. We can hear this conversation." Said Lee.


	6. Dracula

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 **Dracula**

"Biffy, did you ever read 'Dracula?'" asked Basil, the two still waiting while the others searched the sewers.

Biffy shook his head. "I'm not really interested in horror literature. Did you?"

"Four times." Answered Basil, his eyes on the map of the sewer system. "The movies don't do it justice. There is no death by sunlight nonsense, no spending most of the story in Dr. Seward's living room, no Dracula being a snarling beast…"

"Must be completely different to be going after a vampire and it being nothing like Dracula." Commented Biffy.

"It sure is." Agreed Basil. "And boring. What has been an hour? Two hours?"

"Three hours." Corrected Biffy. "How is Venus?"

"She is good. Wants to see France."

"Why?"

"Oh, you know. The food, the fashion, the aesthetic that whole Japanese fascination with French stuff!"

"So she was raised in Japanese culture and you weren't really raised in any culture save for Canadian." Commented Biffy.

"Well, I don't know about that." Said Basil. "As a kid I was left with my maternal grandparents a lot because both of my parents worked a lot and their work was near my grandparents' house so I picked up a lot of Greek and Italian."

"Are they from Greece and Italy?" asked Biffy.

"No but they are of Greek and Italian heritage."

"Then it doesn't count."

"You know Christopher Lee has got to be the best actor to have ever played Dracula but given the movies that isn't saying much." Said Basil, returning to the previous subject.

"Better than Lugosi?" asked Biffy.

"Definitely better than Lugosi."


	7. Vampire Literature

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 **Vampire Literature**

"I may never open up a work of vampire literature again after this." Commented Basil, sitting with Biffy while the others continued their search. "Granted I don't have that many on my book shelf. I have no copy of 'Carmilla', I've never seen a copy of 'The Vampyre' before, having difficulty finding copies of 'Varney the Vampire'… The only piece of vampire literature that is on my bookshelves is 'Dracula.'"

"I had no idea there were other vampire books besides 'Dracula.'" Commented Biffy. "Did Bram Stoker write all of those?"

"'The Vampyre' was written by John William Polidori, 'Varney' was written by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest and 'Carmila' was written by Sheridan Le Fanu." Replied Basil.

"I've never heard of them." Said Biffy,

"It seems like few have." Added Basil.

"That is a shame." Chuckled Biffy. "More than one vampire novel and the one is the only one people know about."

"I wonder if that is an indication of how poorly written the others are." Conjectured Basil.

"That could be the case." Agreed Biffy.


	8. The Werewolf

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 **The Werewolf**

As things had gotten very quiet, Biffy and Basil decided to discuss werewolves. Would they ever see one? That was a very good question.

"The Navajo speak of the Skinwalker." Stated Basil. "An evil witch that can shift in animal shape: wolf, coyote, crow, fox, owl, any animal shape they desire… Might be worse than a werewolf. "

"And what about actual werewolves?" asked Biffy.

"Just a person said to be able to transform into a wolf or wolf-like humanoid by choice or uncontrollable forces. They have extra-human senses and greater strength than either human or wolf."

"Thank goodness for silver bullets." Commented Biffy.

"That is Hollywood." Countered Basil. "Nothing more, nothing less! Rye and mistletoe can stop a werewolf in its tracks but not kill it. If one's house is situated under a mountain ash it would be safe. Wolfsbane can ward them off. In medieval Europe, alleged werewolves could be cured through medical or surgical means, as well as exorcism. And then there is the belief that repeating its Christian name three times or scolding it will destroy the curse!"

"But nothing about killing one?" asked Biffy.

"I'm afraid not." Answered Basil. "It seems if we were to encounter one, it would be invincible."


	9. Gunfire

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 **Gunfire**

Ultimately the sound of gunfire could be heard from the radio. Basil and Biffy both grabbed the walkie-talkie. Immediately, the two started arguing over it.

"Give it to me!" exclaimed Basil.

"No! I've been friends with Lee longer than you have, let me ask what is going on!" demanded Biffy.

"Let go you bald gorilla!"

"You first, skull-face!"

"Biffy!"

"Basil!"

Then the gunfire stopped. Basil and Biffy both stopped fighting over the walkie-talkie. They just stared at it. Why had the gunfire stopped? Who had been shooting? What had they even been shooting at? Basil pressed the button and opened his mouth but no words came out. When Basil took his thumb off the button Biffy then put his thumb on the button of the walkie-talkie but when he found himself to get any words out either both feared the worst.

"This is Lee, I found the vampire. Its dead now… It looks like it was completely normal, nothing supernatural about it.


	10. The Vampire's Husk

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 **The Vampire's Husk**

On a table was the body of the vampire. It was just as the paper had described it. It was like some sort of humanoid bat.

"Well, that is the end of this case," said Lee. "What is it, though?"

Basil shrugged. "Whatever it is, its dead." He looked at the bullet wounds on the body. "And it was mortal."

Cam took a close look at the thing's head. "Just curious but do you think I can hang this from my bedroom wall?" Everyone else present just stared at him, his girlfriend Brandy most of all. "Or we could just have it put in the agency's morgue."

"So…" said Tina. "I guess it is going to be official agency work for us. Barrage probably would have sent us after this thing anyway. We just went after it unofficially."

"I don't suppose I can take my vacation early this year." Conjectured Basil.

"You know Barrage would fire you if you do." Said Tina.

"Excellent." Said Basil walking away from his friends. "I'm off to somewhere where the climate is baking and the womenfolk comely and briefly arrayed."

"Great, I can see if my brother needs a new employee when you get back then." Commented Lee. There was laughter from everyone else present."

"Very funny." Basil shook his head. He wanted a new job anyway. The agency work was cutting in on his flirting time. A philanderer had to philander. What did he care for the agency? A couple of adventures that could have gotten him killed. It was nothing.

 **The End**


End file.
